Injured bus passenger praised for disarming pair

13 July 2015

Gardaí are said to be following a definite line of inquiry, after a bus passenger suffered a serious head injury, when he was struck during an attempted robbery in Drogheda as two men tried to take cash from the driver.
The 45 year old victim was getting off a bus run by "Matthews.ie" on the Donore Road around 11pm on Friday night, when he was hit on the back of his head - by what he believes to have been a handgun.
As he got up, he managed to grab a baton from one of the men before he disarmed the other, who had the gun and had escaped after smashing the glass door of the bus.
The victim - who needed stitches to a large head wound, and was ALSO treated for soft-tissue injuries, claims the gunman threatened to find and kill him before he fled the scene.
Matthews.ie Managing Director Paddy Matthews praised both the passenger and the driver for the heroic and selfless way in which they acted throughout the incident.
“Both of these people are heroes who put the safety of the passengers before their own,” said Paddy.
He added “The driver immediately moved the passengers to a safe location where they were quickly transferred to another Matthews bus to complete their journeys.”
The Mayor of Drogheda Paul Bell has praised Anthony Cardona for his actions and is urging any witnesses to the incident to come forward.